


An Alchemist and His Shapeshifting Best Friend - things get emotionally awkward

by tacticalshovel



Series: This Is 'Normal' For Us [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Cuddling, Elemental - water, Game Night, Hybrid - sparrow, Karen's Bakery and Sandwich Shop, Kissing, M/M, Magic, Power mentioned - seeing the past on people, Practicals - people with superpowers, Scott's there too, Shapeshifter - barn owl, Shapeshifter - fox (not mentioned), Spoilers:, alchemist, charms and spells, cupcake roulette, magic baking, prank cupcakes, rigged cupcake roulette, that's pretty much it, the other practical's powers aren't mentioned in this one, they go to the pool, this is basically a prank and then set up for an eventual relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-18
Updated: 2017-05-23
Packaged: 2018-10-06 01:24:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10322333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tacticalshovel/pseuds/tacticalshovel
Summary: Marcos and Peter decide to prank their poor friend Scott. Their other friend Allan gets a better idea.Later, they go to a pool and things get interesting.This is just set-up for an eventual relationship that no one (everyone) saw coming.(And then more than set-up because I decided to add another chapter.)





	1. Game Night! aka everything is fine

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I do love obscenely long titles.

"Fuck yeah," murmurs Marcos as he watches his pastries rise in the oven. 

"Are they working?" asks Peter, rushing across Marcos' kitchen to join him at the oven. Marcos nods.

"These are gonna be great once they're done," he says, standing back up to start putting away the ingredients. Peter helps by matching the lids to their containers and handing them to Marcos.

"How are you going to trick Scott with them?" asks Peter. "He'll definitely be wary thanks to last time." Marcos laughs as he remembers the time they turned Scott's skin green with a batch of enchanted cookies.

"Well," Marcos says, packing bottles of spices and magic plant extract into a small wooden box. "There's a way to tell if the flavour is shitty or not. If you pick it up and it doesn't smell like anything, it's good. If it smells really good - like mouth-watering good - it's gonna taste like literal garbage." Peter smiles deviously.

"So, we'll separate them, give Scott a bad one, and I can eat a good one to throw him off," he says, and Marcos nods, matching his grin.

"Unfortunately, we can't get anyone else with them,” he tells Peter. "It's one of the oldest tricks in the book that everyone except Scott seems to have read." He shrugs and picks up the box, moving to return it to his special ingredients' storage room. When he comes back, Peter is in the living room pulling on his jacket.

"You're going?" asks Marcos, a little crestfallen. Peter nods, not looking as he zips up his jacket and pockets his phone and keys.

"Yup," he answers, turning to the window in Marcos living room and opening it. "I need to get to work. Picked up an extra shift to make up for the days I'm missing for the trip."

"Fair enough," says Marcos, leaning on his couch. "Have fun!" Peter smiles.

"Will do."

A small breeze suddenly picks up in Marcos' living room as Peter wiggles his fingers. In the blink of an eye, Peter morphs into a barn owl, perched on the window sill. Peter, in bird form, seems to give a little wave with his wing before hopping out the window and taking flight. 

Marcos watches his feathered friend leave before returning to the kitchen where he grabs his oven mitts and removes the pan of cupcakes from the oven. He takes a photo of them with his phone and sends it to Peter, smiling.

"This should be fun."

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Peter: how did the cupcakes turn out?

Marcos: More than half of them turned out 'bad'

Peter: I have an idea

Marcos: ???

Peter: save them for game night, we might be able to get more people

Marcos: GOOD IDEA

Peter: Allan might see what happened tho

Marcos: Hmmmmmm

Marcos: We'll let him in on it. He won't tell anyone.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *  
"I'll get it!" yells Peter when Marcos' doorbell rings. He bounces over to the door, grinning like a child, and Marcos can't help but smile. "Allan!" he yells as their blond friend walks through the door. Allan gives them a nod and goes to hang up his coat, but something seems to catch his eye. He squints at Peter.

"What-" he starts, but Peter cuts him off.

"Yes, we made prank cupcakes," he says, guessing that Allan's ability showed him their baking session. "Marcos made them to get Scott but then we decided to use them on everyone tonight." Allan glares slightly, and Peter adds "Minus you, of course." Allan looks between them for a second before crossing his arms.

"Scott's gonna know something's up," he tells them, ignoring Peter's protest to continue. "Tricia will figure it out for sure, and why would you want to prank Cassandra? Lucas and Oliver, I understand - fuck them - but not Cassie." A thoughtful look crosses his face.

"What is it?" asks Marcos, recognizing the look. Allan grins, his grey eyes sparkling with mischief.

"I've got an idea..."

When the other five show up together about twenty minutes later the dining room table is covered in snacks, but the coffee table only has a single plate of cupcakes sitting on it, all perfectly arranged in a circle. Each cupcake has a numbered sticky note attached to it, and an ominous plastic spinner sits beside the plate. Tricia notices this immediately after she walks into the room.

"What," she says, pointing at the plate. "The hell is that?" Peter and Marcos grin. Allan just remains leaning against the wall next to the ktichen, watching their reactions. Scott's face falls when he sees the set up.

"No," he says, making pointed eye-contact with Marcos. "We are not going to test any of your experimental baking bullshit." Oliver and Lucas, who have been showing each other outdated memes on their cell-phones, finally enter the conversation with matching comments.

"What baking bullshit?" they ask in unison, high-five-ing as Tricia just shakes her head. Oliver shrugs off his jacket, revealing a pair of mahogany and grey streaked wings protruding from his back. He ruffles his light brown hair with a hand and stretches out his wings a bit. Allan finally moves from his spot and walks towards the coffee table.

"This," he says, gesturing to the plate. "Is cupcake roulette." Scott groans loudly and Cassandra looks slightly scared. Peter tries to contain his laughter as he watches Allan set the scene.

Before the others arrived, Marcos grabbed the plastic spinner from one of his board games as Peter carefully stuck the cupcakes with the numbers one through ten and placed them on a plate. Allan grabbed Marcos' small sheet of charmed stickers and placed them on the under side of the board. They used a simple cheating charm to rig the board against Scott, Oliver, and Lucas, deciding the game would spook Cassandra enough and that Tricia would kill them if they tried anything on her. The board was rigged so that Peter, Marcos, Allan, Cassandra, and Tricia would end up with good cupcakes and the three unfortunate victims would wind up with one of the five bad ones.

"As a show of good faith," says Allan, taking a seat directly in front of the spinner. "I'll go first." He flicks the plastic arrow and it lands on number six. Allan picks it up and starts peeling away the paper liner and Cassandra makes a distressed noise. She twirls her dark ponytail between her fingers, her blue eyes wide.

"What's the difference between a good one and a bad one?" she asks cautiously.

"The good ones taste amazing," explains Marcos. "And the bad ones taste like garbage." Allan nods and pretends to look a little wary before taking a huge bite. Tricia gives him a cheer for not 'wimping out' and Cassandra looks horrified.

"It's a good one," Allan says finally, giving a thumbs-up and fake sigh of relief. He then moves over on the couch and pats the cushion next to him. No one moves for a second. Lucas awkwardly runs a hand through his short brown hair, gaze flickering between the room's other occupants.

"I'll fucking go," says Tricia with an exasperated sigh, flipping her long red hair behind her and not even bothering to sit down as she flicks the spinner. It lands on two and Oliver gasps loudly when she too takes a big bite without hesitation. Tricia doesn't wait nearly as long as Allan before giving the 'all clear' sign and pointing at Cassandra, who looks ready to have a heart attack.

"Just get it over with," goads Tricia, pulling her friend towards the spinner. Cassandra flicks it reluctantly and holds out a timid hand for cupcake number nine. She closes her eyes and takes a small bite, scrunching her face together before realizing it tastes good and smiling. Lucas throws his hands up.

"This is a joke," he says, taking his turn and getting cupcake number eight. "There are no bad cupcakes, it's just to get on edge an then laugh at us when it’s all over!" He takes a huge bite and his face blanches. He runs to the kitchen with a muffled cry and starts spitting it into the sink. "Fuck!" they hear over the uproarious laughter from Marcos and Peter.

"Oh jeez," is all Scott says as he looks at the plate with extreme distrust.

"Don't bitch out!" calls Peter, still laughing a little. Lucas chimes in from the kitchen between gags.

"If I have to suffer, then so do you!" he yells before turning on the tap in an attempt to wash the taste away. Scott takes a big breath and steels himself. The spinner lands on cupcake number five. He looks at it for a moment, glancing at Peter and Marcos before shaking his head dejectedly.

"God fucking damnit," he says, peeling back the paper and taking a bite. He spits it into his hand immediately, rushing to trade places with Lucas at the sink. Peter and Marcos take their turns quickly, giggling at Scott's gagging the entire time, and finally Oliver is the only one left. He studies the remaining three, shaking out his wings and preparing himself. 

It lands on cupcake number three which is obviously a bad one and he joins him at the sink, his wings hitting Scott in his rush to get rid of the taste.

By this time, Peter and Marcos are leaning on each other for support as they cackle uncontrollably and Tricia finally figures it out.

"It was rigged," she says with a grin. Lucas gives her an incredulous look as she moves towards the coffee table and picks up the spinner. She flips it over to reveal the stickers on the under side and holds it up so Scott and Oliver can see from the kitchen.

"I fucking knew something was up," says Scott, standing up straight and hurling a ball of water at Marcos and Peter when they start laughing harder. A small water fight ensues, Scott winning quickly when the other two surrender after a couple more streams of water.

"You absolute cocksuckers," says Lucas, more flabbergasted than angry. Oliver comes back into the living room, plopping himself down on the floor next to the couch with a sigh.

"You doing okay there?" asks Tricia, a little jokingly as she takes a seat in the armchair next to him. He gives her another sigh and she pats him on the back, moving to comb her fingers through his feathers in a calming manner. She’s done it many times before – they are adoptive siblings – and Oliver leans into her hand comfortably.

"We better get to pick the games today," he tells them as everyone else joins them in front of the TV. Marcos nods, dragging Peter down to sit beside him on the couch.

"I think that's fair," he agrees. "You go first." Oliver thinks for a moment before beaming.

"Mario Kart!" he exclaims, receiving a series of groans and eye rolls in return. Marcos sighs but gets up to set up the game anyways.

"We've played this way too many times," comments Lucas, but taking the controller offered to him anyways.

"Because this feathered fuck keeps picking it." Oliver squawks at Tricia's insult, batting her hand away with his wing. He looks betrayed but Tricia just chuckles. "It's true," she adds with a smile. He goes to retaliate but everyone starts yelling at him to pick a character and the retort gets lost in the sea of over-the-top trash talking and mocking comments. Nothing out of the ordinary for game night.


	2. Work Is Over, So Let's Go Swimming! aka everything is no longer fine

“What are you up to after work?” asks Marcos, the day’s baking already done and the shop nearing closing time. Scott looks up from his phone, having already counted the money in the register, and shrugs.

“Not sure,” he says. “Do you have any plans?”

“Peter managed to convince Viola to go swimming with us, and Karen’s gonna tag along. Wanna join?”

“Why not,” answers Scott, returning to his phone. Beatrice, who has become a regular at the shop, tunes into their conversation from her seat next to the display case.

“There’s a pool?” she asks, eyes filled with wonder. Scott nods.

“Yup, a decent-sized wave pool and a small lap pool.” Beatrice smiles.

“That so great!” she exclaims. Marcos gives her a sideways look.

“Do you want to come with us?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Thanks!” she beams, but she shakes her head. “But I have to go look at an apartment today. Can’t stay in the hotel forever!” She smiles, cocking her head to the side like a bird before returning to her orange juice, a drink she seems very immersed in.

“Do you want a refill?” asks Scott when he sees that her glass is almost empty. Beatrice regards her glass for a moment before frowning.

“I shouldn’t,” she tells him. “I drink too much of it. It’s kind of an addiction.” Then she finishes the drink and slides the glass towards him with a grin. That’s when Marcos notices her fingerless gloves and frowns slightly. She sees this and holds up her hands.

“They’re charmed,” she explains. “No poison left behind!”

“I thought you said you were in control,” he remarks. Scott shakes his head lightly but stays out of the conversation.

“I am,” she starts. “But I just- I don’t want to make any mistakes. I only wear them when I’m handling other people’s stuff.” She stands and puts her sweater on – a red one this time. “You guys have fun swimming!” she says as she walks out the door. She gives them a wave through the window and then disappears. Marcos leans back against the counter, facing away from the door, and crosses his arms.

“She really needs to get her confidence up,” he comments, frowning. “I don’t think I’ve ever met a demon over the age of ten that wasn’t in control.” Scott shrugs his usual noncommittal shrug.

“She was probably taught to be overly cautious with her abilities from the start. It’s not an uncommon thing for people from communities like the one she was living in.” Marcos hums in agreement.

“So,” he starts, changing the subject. “Do you have your bathing suit with you or do you need to go home and get it?”

“It’s at home,” he replies, not looking up from his phone as he continues scrolling. “I’ll get it after we close up and then meet you guys there.” Marcos pushes away from the counter, moving to get his jacket and car keys.

“Sounds good.”

 

* * * * * * * * *

 

Everyone but Viola is already in the pool when Scott arrives, having been there for about twenty minutes before him. He sits down beside Viola and glances at the book she’s reading, refraining himself from asking questions. He knows not to interrupt her to ask about it.

“Come on, Scott!” calls Peter. Karen stands up in the pool when she notices him, waving him over. Scott pushes up from the chair to join them and hangs his towel over the back of it.

“Have fun,” Viola tells him, not looking up from her book.

“You’re not going to swim?” he asks. Viola looks up at him over her blue-rimmed glasses.

“I did a few laps in the other pool,” she says, returning her gaze to her book and ignoring him.

As soon as Scott gets close, Marcos starts a splash war, hitting the water and sending a wave straight at his face. It doesn’t touch him, though, before it hits an invisible wall and falls straight down.

“Damn you,” mumbles Marcos, crossing his arms in a fake pout, only to be shoved under water by Peter. When he emerges moments later he tackles Peter, throwing him under the water. Karen laughs but she’s cut off when Scott drops a ball of water on her head. She faces him with a wicked grin.

“Magic-free splash fight?” she asks, holding out a hand. Scott shakes it with a matching grin.

“You’re on.”

Karen and Scott call it a day an hour later, hauling themselves out of the water and dropping into the chairs next to Viola.

“Having fun?” asks Karen jokingly, when she sees Viola watching Peter and Marcos play fight in the pool.

“They’re so gay,” she says simply, offering no reaction when Karen sputters out a surprised laugh. Scott just nods in agreement.

“That’s what I’ve been saying.”

Marcos and Peter join them a few minutes later, having tired themselves out severely, and start fighting over the last chair. Marcos finally relents, but when Peter sits down he just lays down on top of him.

“Get off,” protests Peter, trying to shove him but failing miserably. Marcos props his feet up on the armrest and roots himself on Peter’s lap, accidentally elbowing him in the jaw.

“Oops,” he says, not sorry in the slightest. Peter makes an uncomfortable noise, which Marcos ignores, and makes a face, earning nothing more than a laugh from Karen.

“You’re no help,” he tells her, trying once again to remove his friend and succeeds – sort of. Marcos tumbles off his lap but grabs his arm on the way down, dragging Peter onto the ground beside him. They both land with a thud, groaning as they sit up, and receive no sympathy from the other three.

“Sucks to be you,” Scott says when Peter complains about his knee. Peter shoots him a glare but stops complaining anyways.

“Well, I’m gonna head out,” says Karen, standing and stretching, grabbing her bag and towel. “See you fucks later.” She receives a chorus of ‘goodbyes’ and leaves for the change room, followed by Viola who decides to leave at the same time.

“I think I’m gonna go, too.” Scott stands up to leave with a wave. “Have fun on your date.” Marcos flips him off but says nothing. Peter just waves goodbye and sits back down in his chair, motioning for Marcos to join him. Marcos complies and the two of them sit in silence for a few minutes.

“Do you want to go back in?” asks Peter. Marcos says nothing for bit before simply shaking his head, and closing his eyes.

“I’m pretty exhausted.”

“Same.” Neither makes a move, both too tired to even talk. Finally, Marcos sighs and manages to remove himself from the chair with a groan. He offers a hand to Peter and pulls him up, and they make their way to the men’s change room.

Once Marcos is done toweling off he gets changed, pulling everything on except his shirt, which seems to have disappeared. He empties his bag onto the bench, rooting through his stuff and coming up with nothing. It’s not until he hears giggling that he realizes where his shirt is.

“Peter,” he says, turning to face his friend who’s holding the shirt in one hand and covering his mouth with the other. Marcos crosses his arms and leans his weight on one leg. “Give me the shirt.” Peter stops laughing, a grin still plastered on his face, and shakes his head. Marcos glares. “Give me the fucking shirt.”

“You’ll have to try and get it,” Peter tells him, and now Marcos knows what’s happening.

“You fuck,” he takes a step forward and Peter holds the shirt up above his head, way out of Marcos’ reach. “I’m not gonna reach for it.” Peter pouts.

“Aw, that’s no fun!” Marcos takes the opportunity to lunge for the shirt but Peter holds it just out of his reach. Marcos jumps for it once, causing Peter to laugh and mock him. “Is it too high?” Marcos crosses his arms again.

“Give me the shirt now,” he demands. Peter doesn’t stop grinning.

“Or what?” he asks slyly. Marcos manages to keep a straight face and delivers a punch to Peter’s gut, who clutches himself and drops the shirt. Marcos picks it up with a triumphant grin. He pats Peter’s head, about to comfort him jokingly, when he’s tackled to the ground. The wind is knocked out of him for a second, and he grabs Peter’s shoulder, pushing him up off him so he can breathe.

He looks up, suddenly aware of how close they are and the fact that Peter is staring at him. They make eye contact and Marcos’ breath stutters in his chest. They stay like that for a moment, and Marcos thinks Peter’s going to close the gap between them, when Peter stands up quickly, and Marcos mind comes back to him. Peter holds out his hand, averting his gaze and smiling awkwardly. Marcos takes his hand and uses it to pull himself up off the floor. He grabs his shirt from where it’s lying on the floor and pulls it over his head, then they grab their bags and leave the change room, saying nothing and both being careful to not bump into each other.

They part ways at their cars with a wave and Peter drives off almost immediately after shutting his door, leaving Marcos sitting in his car in silence.

“What. The. Fuck.” He bangs his head on the steering wheel a couple times before running a hand though his brown curls. He shakes his head to clear his thoughts and it sort of works. He puts the keys in the ignition and starts the car, hoping the ride will help him forget. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t help at all.


	3. Talking Things Out Actually Solves Issues Sometimes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A continuation that I was originally going to upload as a separate story but then decided to just add it as a third chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have never written anything with kissing, so hopefully this isn't too awkward to read. This will probably be the most intense anything gets though, by the way.

Peter stares off into space from his spot beside the counter in Karen's Bakery as Warren is telling a story about one of his first spectacularly failed spells, but Peter isn't paying any attention. Marcos left a few minutes earlier, making some excuse about plates needing to be washed, and Peter can't stop thinking about how awkward things have been between them. Even though the events at the pool were almost a month ago, the two best friends had yet to even talk to each other.

"You doing okay?" someone asks, and Peter tears himself away from his thoughts to face Cynthia who’s sitting beside him, not paying attention to Warren’s story either. She gives his shoulder a comforting squeeze and the shapeshifter sighs tiredly.

"How much do you know?" he asks her. Cynthia gives him a look to say that he should know the answer, because of course she has probably figured it all out by now. Her fae senses and pre-existing knowledge of their friendship make it hard for Peter to hide what he’s feeling from her.

"It's pretty obvious," she tells him. "I’m guessing something happened between you and Marcos?" Peter leans forward and puts his head in his hands.

"Sort of," he says with a groan. "We kind of had a moment, but ever since then it's been really awkward and I have no idea how to make it… not awkward." Cynthia glances at the other people around them and moves her chair closer, lowering her voice.

"You like him don't you," she says. "As more than a friend." It's not phrased as a question, and Peter doesn't bother denying it – he knows that she figured it out. She may not have noticed while they were hanging out all the time, but now that they're ignoring each other it's obvious to her.

He's been depressed lately, being cut off from his best friend, and Cynthia has finally figured out that his platonic love for Marcos isn't really platonic at all. He's always known that he's not completely straight, it was never an issue for him, but falling for his friend who's probably straight has caused him more than a bit of stress. The incident at the pool left him confused and now he can't even look at the curly-haired alchemist without his heart beating rapidly. He's sure Marcos has an idea of his feelings and, if the way he's been acting lately is any indication, he's not happy about it.

"Yeah," Peter finally admits, sitting up and exhaling tiredly. He's never told anyone, he only realized his feeling a few weeks before what transpired at the pool, and getting the weight off is a great feeling. Cynthia gives him a small, sorry smile, rubbing his shoulder in a calming motion.

"I'm guessing that you haven't told him," she starts. "But that you think he figured it out and is now avoiding you." Peter makes eye contact with her.

"Yup."

"And you haven't talked to him since… whatever happened, happened?" she asks. He shakes his head. "I think you should."

"I don't think Marcos wants to talk to me," he tells her, slouching defeatedly. "As you've already noticed, he's been avoiding me." Cynthia thinks for a moment, looking over the counter at the kitchen where Peter knows Marcos is. She looks back at him and gives his arm a light push.

"Go talk to him," she says. "It can't hurt." Peter snorts.

"It could make this much worse," he replies.

"You're both ignoring each other and you're miserable because of it," she points out. "I fail to see how it could possibly could get any worse." She gives Peter a pointed look and he gives in, standing up.

"Fine," he says. She smiles.

"Just tell him," she says quietly, waving him off. He smiles back – more of a grimace, really – and walks around the counter, making his way to the kitchen.

"Hey," he says, causing Marcos to spin around quickly from where he stands at the sink. When he sees who it is, Marcos’ gaze drops to the towel in his hand.

"Hey," he replies, returning the towel to the hook by the sink.

"Can we- can we talk?" asks Peter, gesturing to the door marked 'employees only'. Marcos takes a deep breath and nods. Peter opens the door and walks into the employees’ coat room and Marcos follows, closing the door behind them. They stand in the middle of the room in silence for a moment, neither sure of what they should say.

"So," starts Marcos, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. He has replayed the moment from the pool change room in his brain many times but just can't seem to stop thinking about it. "I guess we should talk about... what happened." Peter nods, though neither of them are looking at each other.

"Yeah," Peter agrees.

There's another pause where Marcos is fiddling with his shirt, unsure of what to say. Then Peter takes a loud breath and the alchemist looks up at him as he starts talking.

"Look" he starts, still staring at the floor. His hands are in his jeans pockets, his head down. "I- I just want you to know that the feelings I have for you don't have to affect our friendship in any way, but I understand if you don't want to be friends anymore because of them." He sounds glum as he says the words, and Marcos' eyes widen. Peter continues, refusing to look up. "I get that it's awkward and all, and I'm sorry for weird-ing you out at the pool, it was an accident. I know you probably don't like me back and that's fine." Marcos is taken aback.

He is also having a small gay freak out.

After the events at the pool, Marcos started questioning his feelings toward Peter. He has always thought of him as his best friend and nothing more. But when Peter was suddenly so close to him, and when his pulse raced due to their proximity – and Peter's expression – he felt something. The more he sat and thought about it the more he started to freak out because no, he could not have those feelings for his best friend, his best guy friend.

Marcos is not homophobic, and he knows that none of his friends or family are homophobic, so it would be fine if he was gay, except that when he starts to consider the possibility he panics. He’s never thought he was gay, never even considered the fact that he might be gay. But now, as Peter admits that he has feelings for him, Marcos' brain shuts down.

He stares at Peter, who looks absolutely miserable, and considers everything for a second. He watches Peter's gaze flick up to meet his before returning to look at his hands with what Marcos thinks might actually be tears in his eyes – and his heart breaks. Without really thinking, he reaches up to hold Peter’s face gently between his hands.

"Peter," he says quietly, his voice cracking. Peter's gaze remains on his hands and doesn't move. "Peter," he repeats, and this time he meets his eyes. They stare at each other for a second before Peter speaks.

"What?" he whispers timidly. Marcos studies his best friends’ face, noting the slight quiver of his lips and the shine of his eyes.

"You like me?" he asks, and Peter laughs morosely, looking away again.

"That's what I said." Marcos' heart skips a beat and he makes up his mind, throwing his fears from his thoughts.

"Peter," he says again. "Can I- can I kiss you?" Peter looks back up at him, shocked. He studies Marcos’ face, looking for any sign of- well, even he’s not sure, before letting out a breathless "Yes."

Marcos leans forward, standing up on his tiptoes so that their faces are level, and pauses once their noses are almost touching. He takes in the feeling of being this close to his sandy-haired friend and closes his eyes, bumping their noses together the slightest bit. Peter moves his arms to circle Marcos and bring him closer, and Marcos closes the space between them.

The kiss is soft at first, and it’s not long before Marcos moves his hands from Peter's face to the back of his neck to deepen it. They both pour their emotions into the kiss, desperately deepening it and starting to move their lips more. Peter uses his height advantage to tower over Marcos, who simply melts in his arms. The kiss is emotional but not yet heated, and the soft, slow pace, while mind-numbingly amazing, is killing Marcos. All he can focus on is the feeling of Peter kissing him, holding him, so it's a miracle that he manages to pull away enough to whisper, "Let's go to your place." Peter nods, pulling him in for one last kiss before letting go.

They leave separately, the only person paying them any notice is Cynthia, who just winks at Peter as he passes. When Peter gets in his car he can barely get the key in the ignition thanks to the jittery feeling in his fingertips. He closes the door, taking a few calming breaths before pulling out of his parking spot and driving home. His heart lurches when he sees Marcos waiting for him outside his apartment building, and they walk up to his floor together in complete silence.

There’s an odd sort of tension between them as they near the apartment door, and Peter almost drops his keys when he tries to fish them out of his pocket, earning a quiet chuckle from Marcos. Other than that, they both remain silent as Peter unlocks the door and Marcos follows him inside.

As soon as Peter closes and locks the door behind them, Marcos spins him around and carefully pushes him back against the door. Their lips meet again and all Marcos can compare it to is the feeling of coming home. Peter's fingers feel like electricity against his back as he pulls him closer, pushing off from the door and walking Marcos back towards the couch. They continue kissing until Marcos’ legs hit the side of the couch, his knees buckling. Peter catches him and pulls him around to the front where he lets him lie down. Only then do their lips part.

Peter kicks off his shoes and straddles Marcos, bracing himself with his hands on either side of him. Marcos reaches up to his shirt collar, pulling Peter down on top of him and attempting to kiss him again, but Peter has other plans. He moves is mouth to Marcos' jaw and begins leaving feather-light kisses along it, moving down to kiss his neck as Marcos' hand finds its way to Peter's hair, the other tracing circles on his hip.

"Fuck," murmurs Marcos as Peter begins sucking a mark into the skin by his collarbone. Suddenly, Marcos yelps in surprise as Peter nips his skin, and the alchemist shoves him away as he sits up. Peter grins mischievously as Marcos glares at him, laughing when Marcos makes a hurt face.

"It wasn't that hard," he says, grinning. Marcos narrows his eyes and shoves Peter onto his back, crowding over him and immediately diving in for another kiss. The kiss takes on a more predatory feel, as Marcos adds more force, pinning Peter under him by placing a hand on his chest. Peter gasps when Marcos bites his bottom lip and then pulls back, a wicked grin on his face.

"So, you like it rough, then?" he comments, and Peter blushes, eyes going wide, obviously embarrassed. Marcos laughs and pecks him on the lips reassuringly. "We'll save that for another time." Marcos stares down at Peter with a lovingly childish grin and the shapeshifter averts his gaze awkwardly. Laughing again, Marcos shifts his weight off Peter and pulls him into a sitting position. Grabbing the remote from the coffee table, he leans back into the couch and rests his head on Peter’s shoulder, kicking his shoes off and pulling his legs up onto the couch.

“What are you-?” starts Peter, slightly confused. Marcos uses the remote to turn the TV on, selecting a rerun of some drama and settles in next to Peter with a comfortable hum.

“We’re cuddling,” Marcos tells him, eyes trained lazily on the TV. Peter remains slightly tense for a few moments, a little dazed by the change in pace, until he gets over the shock and melts into Marcos’ side. He moves his arm from between them, wrapping it around Marcos and bringing them closer together with a content sigh. They snuggle for a while, savouring the comfortable warmth, before Peter feels Marcos’ head slip from his shoulder as he starts to fall asleep.

“C’mon,” Peter says groggily, reaching for the remote and silencing the TV. He gives the sleepy alchemist a gentle pat, waking him enough to coax him from the couch. “Let’s go sleep in an actual bed.” They shuffle their way into Peter’s room, stripping to their boxers, and climb into bed.

“We’re talking about this tomorrow,” mumbles Peter as they settle beside each other, the duvet wrapped around them as they return to cuddling.

“Of course,” replies Marcus sleepily. It doesn’t take long for Marcus to drift off to sleep, and Peter chuckles to himself when he hears the redhead’s steady breathing. Closing his eyes, Peter focuses on the sound and allows the rhythm to lull him to sleep.


End file.
